Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Thursday that it is “unfair” that the EU continues “unlimited” imports of grain from Russia, as it has decided to limit purchases of certain agricultural products from Ukraine, risking weakening Kyiv’s position against Moscow, AFP reports. .

“We find that, unfortunately, Russia’s access to the European agricultural market remains unlimited,” he said during a video conference with EU leaders gathered at the summit in Brussels.

“When Ukrainian grain is thrown on the roads (disgruntled Polish farmers, no), Russian and Belarusian products continue to be taken to Europe (…) This is unfair,” he continued.

According to the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Russian agricultural products are still exempt from customs duties in the EU.

In its sanctions packages against Moscow following its invasion of Ukraine, the EU has been careful not to target the agricultural sector or Russian fertilizers for fear of destabilizing global grain trade and undermining food security in Asia and Africa.

However, the European Commission has promised to introduce measures on Russian grain imports “in the near future” and may propose to introduce tariffs on Russian imports as early as this week.

Volodymyr Zelensky also criticized the blockades of Polish farmers, which have been operating on the border with Ukraine for several weeks, condemning “attempts of trade separatism within the EU (which) weakens the entire continent.”

In the spring of 2022, the EU-27 decided to exempt Ukrainian products from customs duties in order to support the country’s war-ravaged economy.

But under pressure from European farmers who denounce unfair competition, the EU agreed on Wednesday to limit imports of poultry meat, eggs, sugar, corn and oats from Ukraine to 2022/2023 volumes, above which tariffs will be reimposed.

“Any loss of trade revenues is a loss of a resource that allows us to stop Russia,” the Ukrainian president snapped.

The Czech Republic, Poland and the three Baltic states demand a complete ban on grain imports from Russia and Belarus to the EU.

“We consider it extremely important to fulfill our moral obligation to block any activity that could strengthen” Russia, the agriculture ministers of the five countries said earlier this week in a letter to the European Commission seen by AFP.

Last month, Latvia banned the import of food products from Russia and Belarus, including transit through third countries.